Yankees place Kevin Youkilis on 15-day DL, call up Thomas Neal and Chris Bootcheck from Triple-A

Thomas Neal has played nine Major League games -- all with Cleveland -- during his career.(AP)

The New York Yankees made a flurry of Major League roster moves ahead of Friday's series opener in Anaheim, purchasing the contracts of RHP Chris Bootcheck and outfielder Thomas Neal from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and placing third baseman Kevin Youkilis on the 15-day disabled list with a lumbar strain.

In addition, the Yankees optioned RHP Adam Warren to Triple-A, and needing one 40-man roster move to accommodate the new additions, the team transferred infielder Eduardo Nunez from the 15-day to the 60-day DL.

According to Andy McCullough of the Newark Star-Ledger, Youkilis, who played all 18 innings of Thursday's series finale in Oakland, woke up on Friday morning with numbness in his foot - a recurring problem that won't go away - and will see a specialist on the West Coast this weekend.

Youkilis spent nearly five weeks on the disabled list earlier this season because of a similarly-termed lumbar spine strain; he is hitting .219 with two home runs and 8 RBI in 29 overall games this season, but has gone just 6-for-41 (.146) with 11 strikeouts - including an 0-for-7, three strikeout line Thursday - since returning on May 31.

Neal, who was signed to a Minor League deal with a Spring Training invite last winter, has spent the entire season at triple-A, hitting .339 with two home runs and 24 RBI in 47 games for the RailRiders. The 25-year-old has nine games of previous Major League experience, all of those coming as a September call-up with Cleveland last season, and he was 5-for-23 (.271) with two RBI during that stint.

Bootcheck, a former first-round draft pick of the Angels who made his MLB debut with the Halos in 2003, was 5-2 with a 3.32 ERA in 11 starts for the RailRiders this season, and has a 3-7, 6.54 line in 90 career MLB appearances with the Angels and Pirates from 2003-09.

He was scheduled to start SWB's game at Lehigh Valley Friday, but was instead replaced by RHP Jose Ramirez, who was promoted to the RailRiders from Double-A Trenton.

Warren was 1-0 with a 3.12 ERA in 12 games (34.1 innings) out of the Yankees' bullpen, but after he threw 85 pitches over six innings in Thursday's 18-inning loss to Oakland, manager Joe Girardi intimated in his post-game press briefing that the team would make a move to get a fresh long man for their series with the Angels.

As for Nunez, he has been on the 15-day disabled list since May 12 because of a strained oblique, and has been taking treatment in Tampa after having another setback in his rehab last week. Because he last played on May 5 and had his DL stint backdated to May 6, Nunez will be eligible to come off the 60-day DL on July 5.